Chapters (51)
- Title Page
- Copyright Notice
- Dedication
- PROLOGUE
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- EPILOGUE
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- Also by Adrienne Young
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- Newsletter Sign-up
Like the flick of wind over water, it all disappeared. Holland, Saint, the Trade Council meeting, midnight, the Roths. It could be our last night on the Marigold, our last night on this crew, but whatever happened tomorrow, we were sailing into it together.
You and me.
And for the first time, I believed him.
THIRTY-EIGHT
The harbor bell echoed like a harbinger in the silence of Sagsay Holm as I stood at the window, watching the fog spill over the docks.
West tucked the wild strands of hair behind his ear. His attention was on the buttons of his jacket, but I was thinking about the way he’d looked in the candlelight the night before, warm light on bronze skin. I could still feel the sting of him on me, and the memory made my cheeks flush pink. But West didn’t look embarrassed. If anything, he looked more settled. Steadied.
I pulled in a long, slow breath, trying to calm my nerves. As if he could read my thoughts, West pressed a kiss to my temple. “You ready?”
I nodded, picking up the frock from where I’d dropped it on the floor the night before. I was ready. West had promised me that even if the Roths betrayed us, he wouldn’t honor Holland’s contract. Even if that meant leaving the Marigold behind and spending the rest of our lives in the rye fields or diving on Jeval.
Truthfully, I didn’t care anymore. I had found a family in West, and I’d learned enough from all that had happened to know that I would trade anything in the world for it.
Willa, Paj, Auster, Hamish, and Koy waited out on the deck, each of them straightening when we came out of the breezeway. Tru was at the bow, flicking a coin into the air and catching it.
I walked to the starboard railing and tossed the frock overboard. It fell through the air, green silk rippling before it landed in the slate-blue water.
West was right. Holland didn’t understand the Narrows. She thought that wealth and power could buy her way into Ceros, but she’d underestimated us. There was a lifeblood that connected the people who were born on those shores. The ones who sailed those waters. The people of the Narrows couldn’t be bought.
More than that, Holland had underestimated me.
I watched the dress sink, disappearing beneath the white foam.
It didn’t matter how much Holland tried to dress me up. I wasn’t my mother.
“You sure you don’t want us to come?” Paj asked, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of West and me going to the Trade Council meeting alone.
“I don’t want any of you anywhere near Holland,” he answered. “No matter what happens, be ready to set sail by nightfall. And let the kid go.” He tipped his head toward Tru.